(iPhone photo) Renoir at The National Museum of Art, Washington, DC on June 9, 2012
"Today is Saturday, June 16, and my second day to be back home. Both days I was privileged to take my walk on the Naples beach at the edge of the water and as good as the trip was . . . . it is even better to be back home.
It's been over 20 years since I visited The National Museum of Art in DC and the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, along with several other museums in the Eastern states. At the time I had been painting for only 5 or 6 years and I was in complete awe of most of the paintings. My husband, Karl,
would often ask me on those days what it was that I liked about such and such a painting and I couldn't
always tell him. After several days of museum touring, one evening Karl summed up his opinion by saying "I believe if the artist's name was Monet, Degas, Manet, Renoir or any other famous artist's name, the quality of the work was not considered. Good, bad or mediocre . . it was In". I couldn't hear that then but after last week's museum visits, I believe he was right.
It really doesn't matter what I feel or believe about the art of the past but today I am changed and I was quite disappointed with far too much of the artwork exhibited. Contemporary artists today such as
Richard Schmid, Dan Gerhartz, David Leffel, CW Mundy and so many others are producing fabulous and excellent works of art that are a joy to view and behold. My eyes much prefer their works.
